OPELOUSAS - The tough talkin' spokesperson for the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's office has been told to turn it down, state-wide radio reported.

Captain Clay Higgins has become an internet superstar because of his weekly Crimestoppers segment on a Lafayette TV station. In May, his viral videos were highlighted by the Washington Post. He uses one-liners to sucker-punch wanted suspects: "You can't hide from what you've done, and you'll never escape the long arm of the law," Higgins has said.

Most recently, Higgins teamed up with other Lafayette-area authorities to send a message to suspected gang members. In a report, Higgins called the suspects animals and listed each suspect by name and showed their pictures.

"You will be hunted. You will be tracked," Higgins said in a frustrated manner.

The comments have irked members of the African American community who said the segment was "racially tainted" in an interview with the Louisiana Radio Network.

"A white cop particularly should not call black men animals," National Action Now President Rev. Raymond Brown said.

The ACLU has also taken a stand against what the organization eludes to an aggressive search and seizure tactic.

The sheriff of St. Landry Parish counters, though, the suspects are dangerous members of a gang that have been causing alarm for a while. He warned the suspects that they're wanted, and they will be arrested. Although, he acknowledged he will have a discussion with the popular spokesperson some have called the "Cajun John Wayne."

"He does a great job here and I'm proud of him... there are some things that I'm going to guide him in to not saying," Sheriff Bobby Guidroz told the radio network.

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